Ukraine Leaders Propose Constitutional Change
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Ukraine's acting president and prime minister offered some of constitutional right to Russian-language speakers in a bid to defuse pro-Moscow protests sweeping the east of the country.
In a joint TV address, Yatsenyuk and acting President Oleksander Turchinov called for national unity, urged people to refrain from violence and said they would support constitutional change, decentralising more power to local councils, including over their official language - a key demand of Russian-speakers, Al Jazeera reported.
"We will accord special status to the Russian language and guarantee to protect it," Yatsenyuk said, adding that "major" constitutional reforms would also see a raft of powers handed to the regions.
Russia, meanwhile, said it was disappointed with the United States' assessment of an international deal, reached in geneva on Thursday, to defuse the crisis in Ukraine, saying the threat of new sanctions against Moscow by Washington was "completely unacceptable."
The Foreign Ministry accused in a statement US officials of seeking to "whitewash" what it said was the use of force by Kiev's authorities against protesters in Ukraine's Russian-speaking eastern provinces.
A surprising deal reached by the US, EU and Russia on Thursday calls for disarming all paramilitary groups and the immediate return of all government buildings seized across the country.
The White House warned Russia on Friday that Moscow would face tougher sanctions if it failed to abide by the new international deal or moved to send Russian forces into eastern Ukraine.
"Those costs and sanctions could include targeting very significant sectors of the Russian economy," Susan Rice,
President Barack Obama's national security adviser, told reporters.
The pro-Russian groups in question, however, are resisting any attempts to disarm or remove them from occupied buildings until pro-Ukraine groups are removed from buildings and the government in Kiev resigns.
